What happened to people being responsible and accountable for their actions? Read the motor vehicle laws. In the states I've lived in, bicyclists must adhere to the same laws as motorists. Motorists need to be more cognizant of what is going on around them rather than texting, putting on makeup or involved in some other distraction. What happened to citing violators on either side? I used to commute 36 miles a day on a bicycle and had my fair share of close calls because a motorist wasn't paying attention. I've also seen bicyclists act as if they own the road rather than sharing as they are required. Drivers should use common courtesy, pay attention to the road and don't talk on the phone or text while driving.

While educating youth on proper operation of a bicycle, in my opinion, is a good thing, what happened to parents teaching their children safe operating procedures. Rather than depending on the government, bring it home where it belongs.

Just imagine how much freight delivery times would improve if there was a significant reduction in auto traffic because of rising popularity of bike commuting. Auto drivers who won't switch to bikes due to lack of safe bike lanes in our cities are clogging trucking routes all over the country with their cars. The trucking industry needs to do everything it can to encourage non-recreational cycling use of roadways in all our urban areas.

I am an avid cyclist and bike commuter. Personally, I’m not against all the bike rules you have proposed, but neither am I in favor of them all. As someone who just had a major crash this last weekend, I have no problem with mandatory helmet laws. And minimum equipment safety standards are also not a terrible idea. But, what you may not be considering is that bicycling is still a very small fraction of the transportation system. It is also one that has great promise for reducing congestion, pollution, global warming and dependence on foreign sources of energy. In other words, increasing bicycle use benefits everyone, whether they bike or not. In that light, I don’t think it is wise to erect too many barriers to increased bicycling. Licensing and taxation would do that.

While bicyclists should obey most traffic laws, there is also a reasonable argument for bikes being exempted from some laws, such as making a complete stop at a stop sign. Idaho has recently passed a law exempting bicyclists for making full stops at stop signs and has actually found that accidents have beed decreased.

A good resource for anyone interested in these issues is the book, Peddling Revolution, by Jeff Mapes or the Oregonian.

That said.... it might be advantageous for all road users to work toward improving our transportation system. I think reasonable accomodations for cyclists can be considered a benefit to everyone. If we can increase the amount of people who use bikes as transportation those benefits we all share in would be:

1. Less congestion on our roadways.
2. Reduced fuel prices (demand is lower) and less dependence on foreign oil.
3. Improved health for a nation who pays a staggering cost for obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Regarding suggested requirements to place on cyclists, believe it or not many requirements already exist:

1. Training/testing/minimum age: In an age where 30% of our children are considered obese, do we really want to prohibit them from something most of them would consider "fun" but also give them exercise?
2. Required Insurance coverage: Do we really think there is a serious problem with "uninsured cyclists" out their injuring motorists and pedestrians? I'm sure it has happened but it has to be so rare as to be not worth the regulatory trouble to set it up.
3. Minimum equipment standards and safety inspections: There are already standards for bikes sold and standards for required lighting if riding at night. As for safety inspections, do we require cars to go through safety inspections?
4. Mandatory helmet laws: Just like for motorcycles, each state has the authority to set their helmet laws based on what their citizens want. But keep in mind, 45,000 people are killed in auto accidents each year and more car drivers would be saved by wearing helmets in their cars than cyclists wearing helmets would. Do you also want to legislate car drivers wearing helmets?
5. Bike path user fees: Costs to run a program like this would likely exceed revenue. Do you really want to build a path and then discourage people from using it?
6. Excise taxes on bikes/equipment: It could raise funds but again, why make it harder to get people into an activity that provides so many benefits to society. We don't try to tax pedestians for using sidewalks.
7. Enforcement of all traffic laws for cyclists: Cyclists are subject to traffic laws no different than auto drivers. And no different than auto drivers (Freeways are full of people exceeding speed limit) some cylists don't follow all traffic laws.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. If more people got out on bikes the world would be a better place.

I agree with you that traffic regulations should be enforced for bikes as well as cars. If cyclists want to be treated as equals, we need to act in a respectful way towards other road users.

Testing cyclists for proficiency, safety inspections for bike and mandatory helmets for cyclists might all make cyclists better road users, but they won't protect cyclists from drunk drivers or someone who is distracted fromn driving by applying their makeup or talking on their cell phone.

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